In Wi-Fi Alliance Hotspot 2.0 technical specification release 2 version 1.02, an online sign up (OSU) function is provided for users to sign up subscriptions (i.e., get subscriptions via online) via a Wi-Fi access network. Such functionality may be delivered to the users through a pre-association message such as, for example, a beacon or the Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) message 10 (i.e., element) illustrated in FIG. 1. The ANQP message 10 includes a Hotspot OSU Providers list 12. The Hotspot OSU Providers list 12 incorporates information for one or more entities offering OSU service.
The format of the OSU Providers list 12 is shown in FIG. 2. For each OSU provider listed in FIG. 1, at least the following information is provided: their friendly name (in multiple human languages) 14, the network access identifier (NAI) 16 to be used to authenticate to the Wi-Fi access network (when configured for WPA2-Enterprise security), the universal resource identifier (URI) of their OSU Server 18, and their Icon(s) 20.
The mobile device (i.e., mobile station) uses the OSU NAI 16 to indicate its intention to access the network without peer authentication by using the OSU NAI 16 as its identity in the authentication process. One OSU Provider field 12 is always available if online sign-up is mandatory, as indicated by the Network Authentication Type.